Despite over K1 trillion being allocated for the development budget between 2017 and 2023, there is less to show for it as expenditure for earmarked flagship projects remained less.
This is according to statistics tabulated from the National Budget and Auditor General reports.
Between 2017-18 and 2022- 23 financial years, approved development budgets grew significantly from K336 billion to nearly K800 billion, reflecting the government’s stated ambition to invest in infrastructure, agriculture, health and education.
However, actual expenditure consistently fell far short of these allocations.
In the 2020-21 financial year, about K637 billion was allocated as development budget, but only K377 billion-worth projects were actualized.
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In the 2022-23 National Budget, under-expenditure stood at 30 percent, representing nearly K279 billion.
The Auditor General’s 2022- 23 report identified the Ministry of Agriculture as having the largest unspent balance at over K60.4 billion, followed by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs at K57.2 billion, the Ministry of Education at K43 billion, the National Local Government Finance Committee at K40.8 billion and the Road Fund Administration at K34.3 billion.
Unspent balances were also recorded across 30 budget votes, totaling approximately K296 billion in that year alone.
As of 31 March 2023, Malawi’s Development Account recorded a surplus of K656.7 billion, up from K232 billion the previous year — a rise of over K424 billion in a single year, pointing to a massive buildup of unutilised funds.
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In an interview, African Institute of Corporate Citizenship Head of Programmes Henry Mlinde said the trend exposed a deeper structural failure in how public resources were being managed.
“The problem is no longer about mobilising money. Malawi is getting better at allocating resources on paper, but the systems for converting those allocations into actual projects on the ground remain broken.
“Procurement delays, weak documentation, poor coordination with development partners and limited technical capacity are eating into development gains year after year,” Mlinde said.
Economist Veli Nyirongo said the trend highlights a sustained gap between budget allocations and actual spending, pointing to weak implementation rather than a shortage of resources.
He said although development budgets have grown significantly, expenditure has consistently fallen short, with large sums remaining idle each year.
The Auditor General’s reports across the period consistently flagged irregular payments, missing documentation, procurement inefficiencies and misallocation of funds as recurring problems within Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
